Thursday, September 01, 2016

The ISM manufacturing index indicated contraction in August. The PMI was at 49.4% in August, down from 52.6% in July. The employment index was at 48.3%, down from 49.4% in July, and the new orders index was at 49.1%, down from 56.9% in July.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in August following five consecutive months of expansion, while the overall economy grew for the 87th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.

The report was issued today by Bradley J. Holcomb, CPSM, CPSD, chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. "The August PMI® registered 49.4 percent, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the July reading of 52.6 percent. The New Orders Index registered 49.1 percent, a decrease of 7.8 percentage points from the July reading of 56.9 percent. The Production Index registered 49.6 percent, 5.8 percentage points lower than the July reading of 55.4 percent. The Employment Index registered 48.3 percent, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the July reading of 49.4 percent. Inventories of raw materials registered 49 percent, a decrease of 0.5 percentage point from the July reading of 49.5 percent. The Prices Index registered 53 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the July reading of 55 percent, indicating higher raw materials prices for the sixth consecutive month. Manufacturing contracted in August for the first time since February of this year, as only six of our 18 industries reported an increase in new orders in August (down from 12 in July), and only eight of our 18 industries reported an increase in production in August (down from nine in July)."
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph of the ISM manufacturing index.

This was below expectations of 52.2%, and suggests manufacturing contracted in August following five months of expansion.